the day the white house really wanted to confront oil companies. when you come here you actually get hit twice. once for how much are paying at the pump and a second time for the billions in tax dollars we give to oil companies. of course we do not like rising gas prices, but can we do anything about it? the president gave a resounding yes. he wants congress in $4 billion in tax subsidies we get to oil companies. >> it is not as if these companies cannot stand on their own. last year the three biggest u.s. oil companies took home more than $80 billion in profits. >> he says that money could be used to foster alternative energy sources like wind and solar. backing him up today, military veterans. >> if you have solar powered stations for marines to recharge their batteries into church vehicles, you do not need to do

12 convoys a week if you do not need to lose a few dozen guys. >> the senate today felt otherwise, shooting down the plant. some including democrats fear if oil companies lose that they would just boost prices at the pump. politics plays a role, the president's approval rating often mirrors gas prices. 20%, but the most economic problem we face. >> that is why i think it is time they got by without more help from taxpayers. >> this likely is not the last we will hear about this plan. it could come up again on capitol hill. republicans are talking about how to lower gas prices. in an election year, that is often the catalyst for getting results.

>> thank you very much. the record for gasoline prices came in july of 2008. the national average hit $4.11 a gallon. we could see that match some time by the end of april. you can read more about high prices at the pump and what the president is saying that wjla.com. >> authorities have charged five gang members with running a juvenile prostitution ring. 26-year-old justin strom operated the ring out of his home. at least 10 high school girls are potential victims. they are accused of using threats and violence to keep the girls working. >> this gang recruited not just from northern virginia high schools but they recruited from ruled parts of virginia. -- lower parts of virginia. >> they found the girls from social media or scoping out schools. two growth for beaten or cut with a knife when they try to

quit. >> latest developments in the trayvon martin shooting. the video shows neighborhood watch captain george zimmerman right after the shooting. the video may be a gain changer for the grand jury investigating this case. >>george zmimerman's father is speaking out to an orlando tv station. he insists the police report in which officers report -- and which reports he was beaten and bloodied -- but they point to the police video as exhibit a. they never attacked zimmerman. zimmerman does not appear to have the head injuries he claims to have suffered.

his parents spoke with cnn. >> we have concluded by watching this video that there may not have been any injuries at all. >> abc news also spoke exclusively with martin's girlfriend who was on the phone with him when he described zimmerman following him. protests were a spark all over the country. these issues were address last night in an abc radio town hall. >> pay attention. do not look suspicious. take the luck -- take the hood off of your head. you never know when something can occur. >> since the shooting, zimmerman had gone into hiding. he and his family have received numerous death threats. >> and now the latest for the race to the white house.

mitt romney received a key political endorsement today. >> you will do well here. i am convinced of that. >> george h. w. bush endorsed mitt romney during a visit to houston this afternoon. the stamp of approval is no surprise. barbara bush made robocalls before super tuesday. jeb bush endorsed mitt romney last week. >> a new medical marijuana superstore is to open on friday. our news partners snapped a picture of the store going up. it will not sell marijuana, only supplies to grow marijuana. it comes the same day the sea lawmakers will announce who will get medical marijuana permits. the district joins 16 states by legalizing use in 2010. but we have breaking news out of the tech world.

research in motion says it is putting most of its consumer market and will focus on business customers instead. they have been struggling and growing competition from apple and android. quarterly results are also down on wall street. >> the largest electronics chain is facing tough times. we will see why best buy will shut down dozens of stores. >> you can find deals on its web site now living social is expanding. >> house a far roads for pedestrians in prince george's county? not safe enough. i will tell you what he plans to do a about a coming out next.

[ baby coughing labored breathing ] [ coughing continues ] [ gasping ] [ elevator bell dings, coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] washington can't ignore the facts. more air pollution means more childhood asthma attacks. [ coughing continues ] log on to fightingforair.org and tell washington: don't weaken clean air protections.

>> we continue with a push for a major overhaul of prince george's county infrastructure. >> horace holmes tells us, some of the roads have a serious need for safety upgrades. >> she knows how dangerous these roads can be. three years ago her nephew was struck and killed along with a

7-year-old friend he was with. >> he got killed in hit by a car. they did not have a sidewalk on the road like this. >> there have been 81 pedestrian fatalities since 2008. the three most dangerous roadways, indian head highway, pennsylvania avenue, and university boulevard. it sounds simple and the county executive has made improving the infrastructure a top priority. he wants to build sidewalks where there are none. there is not enough money to make the necessary changes. >> i am pretty nervous because i was hit once before on the parkway walking on the road like this one. clucks there is no sidewalk here, and pedestrians have to walk on the shoulder of route 4. keylay smith was killed when a car turned onto the side of the

road and hit both. the state of maryland was found liable for not providing sidewalks. today there are still no sidewalks or guardrails. >> the county executive baker says it will be tough but he will do what ever he can to find the money to improve the infrastructure in the county to make roads like this stretch of pennsylvania avenue safe for pedestrians. >> of next at 6:00, the district honors some of its most senior residents. >> a beautiful but breezy day today. some rain is heading our way.

my dad was a union electrician. sometimes i'd tag along to a work site carrying his lunch or tools. it was good, honest work. i went to college with the help of a union scholarship, then started a maryland business, creating jobs by providing financing to small companies wall street ignored. today, congress is ignoring our need for jobs. my dad the electrician taught me, if something's broken, get in there and try to fix it. i'm john delaney and i approve this message.

>> you are watching abc 7 news

at 6:00 with gordon peterson, maureen bunyan, doug hill weather, and tim brant sports. >> we are back with a drop in the nation's jobless rate. >> first-time jobless claims fell by 5000 last week. that is the lowest other a project level of applicants since 2008. the latest drop is a strong indication the job market is getting better. >> best buy will close a bunch of stores in an effort to cut costs. they will shut down 50 stores in the next year. in its place, they will open 100 smaller stores as well as dozens of stores in china. 400 people and corporate offices will be laid off. locations of the shutdowns have not been released. >> there is a new on-line service for those tired of takeout menus. livingsocial has a new food

delivery service. you have to take -- open up an account since using it takes a credit card. >> there was a ceremony honoring those who have reached the age 100 or more. medals were awarded to the seniors. there were 175 registered living in the district. the oldest, she is 112. >> 112. how about that? the headline in the weather department is the pollen. these ones are not helping. >> they are blowing it around. -- the winds are not helping. >> we will give you a look at the time lapse. this is the chesapeake bay from the stevens bill side.

. stevensville side. once have been coming down. barely more than a ripple on the bay right now. same thing at the naval academy in annapolis. pretty much crystal clear skies in the region as well. here is what we have on the ford board. that was a little after 1:00 this morning. the temperature dropped to 70 -- 1270 and dropped out again. it is big news if you are allergic to oak tree pollen. we registered the largest pollen count in the last 13 years. an astounding number of 2124. we have frost possibilities in frederick, washington, and along the blue ridge and old dominion. it will be a chilly night. 61 right now as we speak in the

district. 68 in quantico. chilly weather to the northeast. with the air flow and the system coming in, the warm stuff will be held at arm's length for a while. we will get a taste of it on sunday and monday. high pressure continues to build. it will knock down with tonight and provide an opportunity for patchy fog. this will give us a chance of a few showers tomorrow night. saturday and early morning that will clear. a partly cloudy day on sunday. sunday afternoon in other systems brings out of the creek great lakes. -- another system springs out of the great lakes. 58 at midday. 63 with cloudy skies developing in the afternoon. a chance of rain overnight into

saturday morning. another chance of rain late sunday and we get through monday tuesday and wednesday with temperatures expected to be near 70 and a daily chance of showers. that is why they call it in april showers. >> it will be fun, but it will be tense. i have to have it. the capitals are back on the ice in boston. the bruins have found themselves with a sudden surge and a chance to defend the stanley cup. a win tonight locks up their playoff spot. the capitals are on thin ice needing a search to get into the hon. it could have cost them a spot. they are now two points behind buffalo, for behind the senators with five games left. five points behind florida in

the southeast division. >> we just have to worry about boston. you cannot look ahead. you cannot look behind. you have to look at what you do that day. >>donovan mcnabb does not think robert griffin iii will succeed here. are you serious? does this sound better to you? what's a lot of time ego gets too involved when it comes to be in washington. are you going to cater the offense around his talent and what he is able to do? are you going to bring the houston offense over to him and have him be embedded. >> translation -- they did not do anything for me here.

hist>> won a game, winner-take-all. the majority of espn fans agree with him. kentucky could be the wizards. the wizards are in indiana tonight. off the steel and the take, this dog is serious. he just post arises jose. the result was the same. 15th loss. let's go to the other one. blake griffon has crazy abilities. his dog is like anything else in the league. it should be more than two. . . his dunk is like and nothing else in the league. blake griffin with the dunk of the night. >> there is a german soccer

team that has not scored a goal and five games. they are the only fans in the stadium that brought their rose 2.2 the way of the opposing goal. and they scored the first goal in five games. all you carolina fans, hear this. they are all putting their names into the draft and leaving school early. 4/5ths of the starting lineup at north carolina are all gone. >> that is a dagger in the heart.

>> less than 24 hours to enter

to win thousands of dollars in patio furniture. >> that comes to us and thanks to offenbachers. we will announce the winner friday at 5:00. >> pretty good. >> it would be nice to sit on the patio and enjoy the weather. >> tonight it will get chilly. frost advisory north and west of the city. wake up in the morning 34-44 degrees. we may see some showers late at night. probably over nine and into saturday morning, the best chance of showers. more showers and mild temperatures early next week. keep up-to-date with changing weather around the clock at wjla.com.

[ baby coughing labored breathing ] [ coughing continues ] [ gasping ] [ elevator bell dings, coughing continues ] [ female announcer ] washington can'tgnore the facts. more air pollution means more childhood asthma attacks. [ coughing continues ] log on to fightingforair.org and tell washington: don't weaken clean air protections.

this is an rc robotic claw. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ ♪